Summer Reads

Revenantsby Ryan Sherwood

Two brothers divided in life will lead the undead into an everlasting war...

From the dawn of time, two brothers were destined for greatness. Their triumphant unification of dissident lands heralded a time of peace and prosperity and yet, each brother yearned to see one another again in the flesh. Such a meeting had to be momentous, but neither brother could have imagined what secret treachery would make them become.

Revenants. Neither dead nor alive, they are reborn souls, spat back out of the earth and given back breath, heart and mind. The world of the Revenant is also divided; with two fractions waging a terrible war over their damned souls. Even in death, the brothers cannot agree and the consequence is a bloody war that has flowed down through centuries, with the ‘Holous’ on one side and the ‘Lucien Sols’ on the other. Caught in the middle, is a lost Revenant, Ezra. Unwilling or unable to understand who he is, he is initially taught by the Holous only to fail to meet their exacting standards and is cast aside. Pounced on by the Luciens, he needs to now, more than ever, come to terms with who he is and grab hold of his destiny before it is too late.

This, the first in a series, is seriously good. Sherwood seems to have grown into his own with Revenants; you can hear the passion and conviction on every page. The difficult blend of sustaining intensity without losing depth of character or loss of descriptive prose is well achieved here. The world of the undead could be said to have been done to death, but Sherwood offers us something fresh and exciting, with an alternative beginning, a mystery behind their creation and the more subtle notion of an afflicted sub-race filled with past lives’ pain, memories and emotions. Sherwood has clearly poured his heart and soul into Revenants – and it shows – this is an immaculately presented, well constructed story, but most importantly it is a hugely entertaining read.